Barclaycard among those feeling the credit card pinch

09 August 2005

High street banks are warning that bad credit is undermining the credit card sector.With all the leading lenders now submitting results, experts have discerned a key trend among the credit card industry.

Indeed, cumulatively customers are expected to force banks to write off as much as £3 billion during the first six months of the year.

The situation is thought to have snowballed as a result of the competitiveness of the industry, with lenders widening access and taking on more and more borrowers.

Barclaycard, for example, saw its profits slide by 17 per cent over the first six months – with the bank relying on its corpoarate finance movements to recoup costs.